Employment in US oil, gas industry falls 26% from 2014 peak

Aug 05, 2016 12:00 AM

Available jobs in the US oil and natural gas industry suffered sharp declines despite recent increases in prices for fossil fuels, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a press release on Friday.

Since peaking at 538,000 jobs in October 2014, oil and gas producers have shed 142,000 jobs as of May, 2016, a decline of 26 percent, the release explained.

"The total decrease in production jobs is nearly three times the 51,000 jobs lost over a 13-month period during the 2008–09 recession," the release noted.

An even sharper decline in the number of working rigs reflected the industry’s woes, with just 404 rigs in May 2016 compared with 1,800 in the fall of 2014, according to the release.

Lately, oil prices have stabilized above $40 a barrel following a year in which prices often dipped below $30.

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